Disclaimer: Nope, still nothing. I own Harry Potter as much as I own...the world. Which isn't anything. Yet...;)

Mind Games

'Hey!' Lily said indignantly. 'There is nothing going on between James and me.'

'Yes there is! I saw the way he looked at you.'

'He always looks at me like that.'

'I saw the way you looked at him.'

'I didn't look at him any different.'

'Yes you did.'

'No I didn't.'

Anna sighed. Her best friend was so stubborn. 'All right, Lils, I believe you.'

'Excuse me, what?' Lily asked, astounded.

'I said I believe you. I believe you if you say there isn't anything going on between you and James, because you would tell me there if there was.' Anna yawned widely. 'Well, I'll be going to bed, Lils, it's pretty late. I'll see you tomorrow, right?'

'Yeah,' Lily sighed. She was having an extreme internal battle.

'Anna!' Lily screamed, Anna's hand resting gently on the door handle. 'Wait.'

Anna smiled. Lily could be the most stubborn person she knew, but if Lily though someone was challenging her, she wouldn't back down. Anna made her face neutral before turning back to her friend. Lily looked pretty pale.

'Come here,' Lily said shakily, patting the area at the bottom of her bed. Anna complied.

'Yeah?' the brunette asked.

'I don't know what's wrong with me. I mean, I thought he changed, and then he was an jerk again. Now, he's changed again, Anna, and I don't know what to do. When I leaned over to see his card, I felt his breath and I felt this rise of…of…passion, and I don't know where it came from. Anna, I c-can't like him. He j-just wants a g-good s-snog, and then he'll th-throw me away like a-all those other b-bimbos. I don't w-want to be a bimbo, Anna!' the redhead finished, sobbing.

'Shh,' Anna soothed. 'Now, let's go through this slowly. You think you like James?'

'I know I like James,' Lily corrected. 'And I haven't felt this way around any guy before. James is different.'

'But you don't want him to be different.'

'No.'

'Why?'

'Because he's j-just in it for the ch-chase! O-once he gets m-me, and g-gets a good s-snog, he'll d-dump me. Just l-like the others. He'll b-break my h-heart, Anna.'

'Do you know why he's dumped the other girls so quickly, Lily?' Anna asked.

'N-no, why?'

'He dumps them quickly because he's constantly comparing them to you. None of them are as pretty as you, or as smart as you, or as funny, interesting…I can go on and on, Lils.'

'H-how do you know this?' Lily asked, wiping the tears from her face; apart from the tear stains Lily looked a bit brighter at this information, despite what she wanted herself to believe.

Anna grinned sheepishly. 'I couldn't sleep, so I was going to go down to the common room, but I heard voices talking, and I, being considerate, didn't want to interrupt their group therapy session.' Anna grinned at her best friend, who smiled back.

'Anna!' Lily scolded. Anna just grinned in response.

Lily sighed, sounding dramatic. 'Anna, what am I going to do?' Lily asked desperately.

'Well,' her friend drawled, 'you could…get to know him better and then see whether you still want to…not…like him.'

'I could,' Lily began skeptically.

'But?'

'But that would give him the chance to break my heart, whether he knows what he's doing or not.'

'Life is not measured by the amount of breaths we take, but by the moments that take our breath away.'

'Who said that?'

'I dunno.'

'Oh.' There was a moment of silence. 'Anna?'

'Yeah?'

'What does that have to do with anything?'

'I really don't know,' Anna reflected. 'My point was that what's the point of living without a couple of risks?'

'You know I'm not one for risks,' Lily noted.

'I know you aren't,' Anna answered, 'but James is.'

Anna got up and walked to the door, turning around as her hand touched the silver of the doorknob. 'Night, Lily,' Anna said, with half a smile on her face.

As Anna stealthily made her way back to Gryffindor Tower, she figured that Lily was feeling more for James than she was leading Anna, and herself, to believe.

'Well,' her friend drawled, 'you could…get to know him better and then see whether you still want to…not…like him.'

'I could,' Lily began skeptically.

'But?'

'But that would give him the chance to break my heart, whether he knows what he's doing or not.'

Lily's conversation with Anna played in the mind of the redhead. It was the day after the game of Clue, and Lily was still trying to decide what she was to do about James.

Well, she thought, I can't just get to know him better, because he could break my heart, just like I told Anna. What can I do? Well, when did I start liking him? It was…when we were both being nice to each other, right? Yeah. Ok. Therefore, if I'm not nice to him, then he won't be nice to me, and then there's no way I can still like him! Lily nodded her head confidently. The number one, foolproof way to get over James Potter? Pretend like nothing happened.

'Hey, Lily!' Lily looked up from her homework as James Potter sauntered into the Hospital Wing the same day.

'Hello, Potter,' Lily said indifferently, returning to her homework.

James was shocked. They had been getting along so well. What happened to make her hate him again?

'I brought food,' James said, making a fresh attempt at a conversation.

'Hmm,' Lily responded, not bothering to look up from her homework.

James sat down, placing the food on the table, there for Lily if she wanted it. James gazed at Lily, looking to see if he could find something that would explain Lily's sudden hostility; he found nothing. It didn't look like she had a fever, was sick, or anything else.

'It's not polite to stare, Potter,' Lily said coldly.

For half an hour the two sat in remote silence, the only sound was Lily's quill scribbling furiously on her parchment. When the bell rang, James stood up with a heartbreaking expression on his face, muttering a good-bye to Lily as he left for class.

When Lily heard the door safely shut, she let the tears that were building up in the eyes of her bowed head fall freely, splattering the parchment she was writing on. Her shoulder shook as the Head Girl sobbed, cursing herself for falling for James. Lily looked down at the sheet that she had been mindlessly doodling on, and realized with a jolt that she had sketched James' name and his initials countless times, many of them encompassed by hearts.

What did I do? thought James, mindlessly shoving his dinner down his throat. Why is she back to hating me again? I haven't done anything wrong, have I? I should probably go back and try and talk to her again now. I'm done dinner anyways.

'Guys, I'm going to go and see Lily again. I'll see you later in the dorm, ok?'

'You're going to see Evans again, Prongs?' questioned Sirius. 'I thought you said she wasn't talking to you this afternoon?'

'She wasn't, Padfoot, but I'm sure she was just annoyed at something. Besides, I'll act proper for her now. See? My tie's even done up.' James smiled hopefully, picking up his bag before turning around at the calls of 'See ya, Prongs' and 'Bye James' from Remus and Peter. James smiled to himself, completely missing the longing look his best friend was currently shooting at his back.

'Knock, knock!' James said, entering the Hospital Wing again. 'I brought you the homework.' James motioned to the parchment in his hand.

'Excellent,' Lily said sarcastically, receiving a jolt as she looked up at the black-haired Marauder. He was walk in confidently, but not arrogantly. But what shocked Lily was that James looked respectable. Instead of his usual carefree appearance, James looked quite adequate: his crisp, white shirt was tucked neatly into his black pants; James' cloak was worn properly, and he actually had his shirt completely buttoned, with his tie securely around his neck.

'McGonagall said she wanted your previous homework assignments for marking,' he said in a business-like tone. 'She said that she would give them out to the appropriate teachers.'

Lily reached over to her beside table and mutely handed the papers over to James, who had taken up his usual seat next to her bed.

'Thanks,' James said, slipping the papers into his bag at his feet. James looked back over at Lily. She seemed to be having an internal battle with herself. It amused James to sit there and watch her facial expressions change. He couldn't help but laugh a little.

'What's so funny, Potter?' Lily snapped, brought back to reality by James' laugh. The laugh that haunted her dreams…

James immediately put on a serious appearance. 'Nothing, Lily.'

'Evans,' she corrected, immediately regretting her action.

'Evans,' he repeated with a sad nod. 'Is that what we're back to? Calling each other by our last names?' he asked dejectedly. 'We were getting on level playing field. One might even go as far as to say we were friends –'

'Friends?' Lily repeated mockingly, half laughing. 'As if I'd ever be friends with you, Potter. You're an arrogant, big-headed, playb –'

'Am I?' James whispered, almost too low for Lily to hear. 'Am I really what you think I am?'

Lily found herself wishing that James had yelled at her; it wouldn't have hurt as much if he did.

'I'm sorry you think that of me, Evans, but maybe I've changed, and you just don't want to see it,' James said, gathering up his bag and walking to the door. If he had looked back before he closed the door, he would have seen Lily put her head in her hands, tears slowly falling off of her long eyelashes, drenching the sheets under her.

A/N: WOOT! I can't believe I typed this chapter this fast! This has got to be an all-time record for me. Wow. I'm so pleased! I've even started the next chapter. Give major thanks to my music (paticularly Bad Day by Daniel Powter), and other fanfiction, which helped me get over my writer's block.

Well, I'm off to write more of chapter seven. I really hope you guys enjoyed this chapter! How 'bout some reviews? ;)

Niamara

Over 1600 reads! I love you guys:hugs and kisses: